~The Boar and the Phoenix~

Seven days Richard had rested within the great bedchamber and seven days the castle had echoed with the shouts and songs of victory that lasted long into the night. A week of safety, a week of peace.

News of Queen Eleanor's victory and King Richard's return had spread throughout the land like wildfire and the people and nobles alike had rejoiced! Bards and poets crafted their greatest ballads finest verses that were soon sung throughout the country, praising their blessed Queen and telling of her great deeds, of the people's great love for her!

Each day the Yorkists awoke to more tales of how wine flowed freely in city streets and church bells rang for days without ceasing for all wanted their joy to be known!

Their joy and their relief that the country was safe once more, even the French army in London was welcomed with open arms!

Many had taken the Queen's victory at the Battle of Middleham as a sign from God, a true sign that York was meant to rule, that Eleanor was meant to rule and that he had faith in her.

The Golden Queen they had begun to call her and she had laughed out loud when she had been told, promising that when she rode into London she would live up to that name! Truly, it thrilled her to be worthy of their adoration but she did not think on that as she walked to her husband's chamber that day with a precious bundle in her arms.

Richard was still weak, his body was fail after many weeks of the near deadly combination wounds and malnutrition concocted but little by little, day by day he grew ever so slightly stronger and by the seventh morning could sit up! It pained him to do it but he was determined and Eleanor knew that it would do him good to prove his determination was worthwhile.

So what better way was there to do that than presenting his infant daughter to him? And one named for his very first beloved child too!

That morning, after a hearty breakfast with her children, she gathered little Katheryn into her arms and wrapped her in her blankets of cerulean silk before strolling to her husband's chambers.

Richard was reading when she entered, propped up comfortably on his pillows, but the book of myths and legends that had consumed his mind for the past hours became entirely forgotten as he saw the babe within his wife's arms. His eyes widened, filled with the wonder Eleanor had grown accustomed to seeing when he first gazed upon their children but her knowledge did not make her smile any less joyful, it rather made it more so!

After all, a week prior she had thought Richard would never see their child. He all but flung the book aside, only just managing to resist the urge to leap from the confines of his bed and take their baby into his arms. It was almost as if this child restored life to him when he looked upon them for he could feel the strength returning to his limbs! He felt truly alive again for the first time!

"Our baby!" He croaked, his voice still too weak for him to cry out with happiness like he wanted too. Instead Eleanor's laughter filled the chamber and she nodded, perching beside him on the furs of their bed. She knew she could hardly wait to share it with him again as she pulled back the bundle of blankets a little so that Richard could see Katheryn's rosy face.

"A girl" she whispered, heart leaping at the way his smile widened and his eyes darkened with love.
"A little daughter....a little Princess for England, thank you, my love" he held out his arms, they shook slightly but Eleanor placed their babe in them all the same.

Richard cradled the tiny bundle against his shirt like a precious jewel, finding tears blurred his vision at the sight of the little face that peered curiously up at him. "She is perfect" He whispered "tell me, what have you called her?"

"Katheryn" he could not hold back the small sob that escaped his lips at the name "she was born the day of Bosworth"

"Katheryn" he repeated, nodding "a perfect name for our beautiful daughter...." His words trailed away and he bent his head to the bundle of blankets, brushing his chapped lips across one of his daughter's soft cheeks "I love you, little Katheryn and when I am strong again I shall help raise you alongside your brothers and sisters, I will show you your home and you shall love it as we all do, I promise"

Two heavy tears rolled down his cheeks and he felt Eleanor's gentle fingers catch one in its tracks, wiping it swiftly away.
"Do not weep, my love" she told him, shuffling further onto the bed while Richard cradled their daughter "we must celebrate what we have gained for the sake of those we have lost for they would wish us to be happy"

He knew she was right. If Rob were still alive he would be vying for the affections of little Katheryn with Francis, were Jack still alive he would be carving a new wolfhound, were Harry still alive he would be dancing a jig! If Katheryn were still alive she would be adoring her new namesake with each moment she had.

They would all want him to be happy, he and Eleanor and all those who were still with them to be happy.

And so he smiled and little Katheryn gurgled her delight, tiny hands reaching up towards him.

꧁꧂

Eleanor grinned at the pair that sat before her in Richard's study. His chair felt rather large to her, she had only ever been in it when on his lap, but she did not mind and the chair was not what occupied her mind then.

It was Francis and Anais that did.

They looked at her in a state of utter confusion, wonder written plain across both of their faces at why they had been called to the Queen. Had they known the reason they would not have stared at the small smile of mischief she harboured, they would have been all but bouncing from the castle walls!

"Why do you look at me like that?" Eleanor asked, her tone light with flippant amusement "you are my dear friends what do you think I wish for?" The lovers exchanged glances.
"Vhat you vish for, Leena?" Anais replied "vell, I suppose there are many things that you could vish for?" A small laugh came from the Queen.

"What do you think I wish for you you two?" She elaborated and her friend's expressions descended from confusion to utter uncertainty.
"What are you planning, Eleanor?" Francis asked, leaning a little closer in his chair while he tried to figure out her plan. She shrugged.
"Answer my question, Francis. Then I will answer yours"

He and Anais looked at one another again and Eleanor sighed, deciding not to extend the little game for longer than necessary, after all, she intended to cause joy that day, not confusion! Taking a sip of wine from her goblet, she sat up in her seat and once more glanced between the lovers.

"I wish to see you happy" she said at last "It has long been known to me that you two are in love with one another and" she held up a hand as Anais began to speak, grinning "really, Anna, this is one speech I wish to make uninterrupted" Her friend quickly fell silent again and nodded, taking Francis' hand "thank you. Now, I know you two are in love and you wish to be together without having to hide. I have a way for this"

There she paused, watching as Anais swallowed and her eyes grew wide with wonder; free hand gripping the skirt of her gown.
"So what do you intend to do?" Francis asked. Eleanor raised her eyebrows.

"If Lady Anne Lovell should agree to it, I propose to have your marriage to her annulled upon the grounds of non-consummation. I take it this is a valid claim?" He nodded, suddenly finding himself hardly daring to breathe and Anais holding onto his hand so tightly it was starting to go numb "even if it was not I would do this for as I said, I wish to see you happy. With your marriage annulled the two of you will be free to wed and you, Anna, would be Viscountess Lovell. Now I say would because you won't be" she paused again, letting a smile spread across her lips "you will be the Countess of Northumberland and you, Francis, the Earl in place of the traitor Henry Percy and his heirs!"

Eleanor sat back in Richard's chair, fully satisfied with the dumbstruck expressions that faced her. Francis' mouth opened and closed but not a sound came out, not a single syllable while Anais merely stared at her friend "You two have been naught but loyal to my family, you, Francis, single-handedly saved my husband's life!" she continued "now it is time that loyalty was repaid. The Percys are traitors, you more than deserve and have earned the power and position I give to you today" she picked up the papers on her desk, she had spent most of the morning arranging them "here"

Francis reached out with a trembling hand and took them, reading the lines before his eyes flicked back to Eleanor's.
"Am I the Earl of Northumberland, Leena? Is this truly real? Am I going to be able to marry Anna?"

She raised her eyebrows again and nodded, unprepared for the roar of overjoyed laughter that erupted from both of her friends. Anais leapt to her feet, running around the desk and throwing her arms around Eleanor's neck, holding her as tightly as comfort would allow.

"Thank you, Leena!" She cried while Francis dropped to his knees, starting to shaking with shock, and reread the papers in his hands "thank you thank you thank you!"

"You shall be a Countess, Anna!" Eleanor laughed and the younger woman practically squealed with delight, tears of joy sliding down her cheeks "the Countess of Northumberland!"
"Oh vhat joy you have brought me, Leena!"

"What joy you have brought us both!" Francis cried "I cannot even think how we shall ever manage to repay this!" Eleanor shook her head, grinning as she was set free by Anais and the flaxen haired woman dashed back around the desk to embrace her lover. They clung to one another in a tender embrace that they were sure they could float up into the clouds within!

Neither believed their lives were truly real at that moment!

"There is nothing of that sort necessary!" Their Queen laughed, waving away his words "You have more than earned it, my friends!"

꧁꧂

October 1485, Middleham....

Nestled happily in the window of their chamber, Eleanor watched Richard as he stared aimlessly at the canopy of his bed, once more resting. She grinned at the little frown that tugged at the corner of his lips, he hated to be held stationary.

"How was it done, my love?"
He turned his head at the sound of her voice, relived that there would be some conversation.
"How was what done, Leena?"
"How you were rescued of course! How you are before me today! Johnny told me but I would rather hear it from your lips"

Richard smiled indulgently, there was not a soul in England who had not heard the tale by now, even the children could recite it by heart, but he was not going to deny Eleanor her wish!

"It was Francis" he told her as she drew up her knees to her chest and rested her chin upon them, already enthralled like a child "he was knocked unconscious by a mace and we thought him dead"
"But he was not!" She called and he nodded.

"But he was not and he managed to rise again. He saw that I was surrounded by the Tudors and when I was knocked to the floor, he grabbed my crown and placed it upon a dead solder whose face had been smashed in so it was unrecognisable! In the chaos he started up a call that that was the King and the enemy, eager for glory, swarmed around the body with the crown so he could get to me! He used mud to cover the roses on my armour and managed to drag me from the battlefield to a horse! And then, well, we travelled here and now I am safe!"

"Never have I been so glad to hear a tale!" Eleanor cried and dashed from her seat to the bed in a swirl of lilac silk and loose red curls. She was careful as she all but flung herself at Richard, laying her head on his chest and smiling when she felt his fingers run through her hair "can I see you, my love?" She felt him frown.

"See me?" He asked, pausing for a moment before he realised what she wanted of him "ah, you wish to see what damage was done to your husband on the battlefield, my love?" Eleanor looked up at him and nodded, he smiled at her, wrapping one of her curls around a finger "then by all means, see me" sitting up she took a deep breaths before her hands reached for the silk coverlet that covered her husband's body.

She had not seen his wounds before then, always they had been covered by a shirt or numerous blankets. She had seen his battle scares before, indeed, she had spent many hours brushing her lips along them but something told her that the scars she was about to see would be unlike those before.

She was right.

As she drew back the covers, the muscled and smooth body that usually greeted her was almost nothing more than a memory. Jagged lines, deep and painful, caused by ill aimed blades streamed across his chest and torso, silk stitches holding them together as they healed. She bit her lip but did not recoil in disgust or shock as Richard feared she would, no, because all she felt was a stinging pain within her heart while her hand ghosted over the angry red lines.

"Oh my love...."
He almost grimaced at that.
"Is it very horrible?" He asked and he was taken aback to see surprise light her features.

"Horrible?" She repeated as if the very idea of the word appalled her "how can you say that, Dickon? These wounds and the scars they will become are anything but horrible" he felt a smile tug at his lips, Eleanor could always find a way to soothe him "they show your bravery and your bloody good will to live!"

She grinned as her husband chuckled and for the first time it did not pain him to do so, even as he pushed himself up, leaning against the headboard.
"Truly?"

She clasped his hands, bringing them to his lips before a flash of ideas glinted in her eyes and she dropped them onto the covers. Climbing onto the bed, she carefully straddled him, making sure she did not place any true weight on his legs for they were injured too.

"Do you remember when the childbearing marks I have on my belly and thighs first appeared when I had George and I hated them?" She asked, reaching for her skirts and swiftly pulling them up so that she was bare from the waist down.

Richard smiled as he looked at the silvery lines that streaked across her belly and the tops of her thighs. Truly, she had hated them when they first appeared, thinking that it meant she had lost her beauty and it had taken many months for him to convince her otherwise.

"Aye" he said, trailing a finger along one of the white marks "you made me make love to you under the cover of darkness!" Eleanor nodded, keeping the lilac silk of her gown bunched in her hands while her eyes scanned both she and her husband's bodies.

"Exactly, but I have grown to accept and love them!" She told him gently "We all have our scars from the battles we have faced, my love, and rather than think of them as ugly I think that they show our strength and give us each a unique beauty that belongs to us alone" Leaning forward to kiss him, she let her lips rest gently against his before she pulled away again and released her gown, allowing her hands to wander tenderly over his chest "We all fight battles, my love, only yours are with blades and mine are with bearing our heirs!"